On Thursday 29 January 2009 12:46:19 nonuckingfumber wrote: > --- In [email protected], Dan Andersson <d...@...> wrote: > > The only DuDe's I know of still insisting on IGES is the US DoD.... > > Doh! > > > STEP is not good enough either. This is still a desk design by a > > steering > > > group of board members, a fit all solution. > > Well I was not proposing that the formats be used in KiCAD. Apparently > Tyco DOES use them, and offers only these formats. Seeing as how Tyco > make an awful lot of the hardware we stick on boards, in particular > hard to draw but very important for 3D view eletromechanical stuff > (headers, connectors, relays, fuses etc.), I think it would be very > useful to be able to import them. > > What I have been looking for is a program that can read IGES or STEP > and export in some format that would be more useful to us.
OK, I might have overreacted but... Both IGES and STEP are desk products created by demands from the DoD and possibly MoD even if the UK MoD spend peanuts compared to DoD on electronics. The major suppliers like Tyco et al must supply the DoD with IGES files to be allowed selling their components. Yes, I also agree on the need for a 3D exchange format but IGES ( and STEP ) has been proven to be to cumbersome for non DoD softwares and projects. However, as the most detrimental reason to avoid IGES and STEP was development costs. I browsed the IGES and STEP documentation and couldn't find any copyrights etc. This needs being researched before anyone includes IGES and/or STEP in a GPL or open source licensed software. As the development in this case might be done "at no costs", it might or might not succeed. I find it easy to add modules when needed but I never care about the 3D models as I don't use them so I withdraw my voice and let other fight it out. Creating a reasonably simple conversion tool might be possible without implementing the whole shebang. //Dan, M0DFI
